The Little Dragon Taimer
by ZoologyKaM
Summary: When she was four, Felsi was rescued from an attacking dragon by Hiccup. The event left her terrified of dragons. Now she's 9 and her parents have brought her back to Berk. It was fine to be afraid back when dragons and Vikings were fighting, but now that the dragons live at Berk, Felsi will have to face her fears with the unlikeliest of dragons (not Toothless btw).
1. The Little Viking

_**A/N:** Hello! This is my first HTTYD story and it's been stewing in my brain for a long time. The first chapter starts during the first movie and the second will continue on from after the second movie._

_As far as can be proved there is no interference with the first chapter of this story. It falls under the assumption that Stoic returned to the village two days before that last day of dragon training where Hiccup was chosen to kill the dragon in front of the village. The night he returned was when he talked to Hiccup and gave him the "breast hat," and that day and the one after are the ones I'm playing with the timeline of. I'm adding in things that never happened in the movie but there's no reason to say they couldn't have. I'm just adding in an extra day. _

_Okay now that THAT explanation is done! Here's how my stories work! _

**_I only continue if reviews ask me to!_**_I have a surplus of stories and am already heavily involved with comics writing and other stuff on Deviant art. I don't have time for stories that no one will read, even if I enjoy writing them. So if you want to see this story continued, leave a review! Three reviews and I'll continue. Seven or more and I'll continue faster than one chapter every few months._

_So for now ENJOY THE STORY!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1- The Little Viking<strong>

"Astwid! Astwid!"

Astrid turned around, an angry twitch playing at her mouth. "Go Home Felsi!" It was bad enough having to deal with Hiccup's sudden competency in dragon training, but now to deal with a little cousin from another Viking village… Didn't her parent's know she was already stressed? She had no doubt that her parents were tired from the search for the dragon's nest, but what excuse did her aunt and uncle have?!

Four year old Felsi threw her arms up happily as she stopped in front of her cousin. "But I want to go twain dwagons wifs you!" She squirmed excitedly in her brown shirt and pleated skirt. Her little fur trimmed boots tapped up a small cloud of dust.

Roughnut and Toughnut snickered where they waited at the bridge. Astrid roughly pointed her cousin back towards the village, "For the last time, Felsi, it is DRAGON TRAINING not Training Dragons!" Felsi's smile didn't waver.

"Yeah! I wan to twain a pet dwagon to!" She bounced on her toes expectantly while Astrid slapped her face with her palm. Behind her the twins could barely contain their laughter.

"Felsi we don't train dragons! We kill them!" Astrid had hoped that her loud yell would scare her cousin away, but the girl only looked up at her with a confused expression. Okay! Time for plan B! "Look Felsi! I just saw a dragon fly off that way!" Astrid pointed to the safest part of the forest. She can't get in trouble that way.

Felsi gasped and clapped her hands, running off towards the woods. "I gon twain da dwagon!"

Astrid gripped her weapon and walked to the bridge leading to the training center. The twins, now silent, stared off where the little girl had disappeared into the trees. "Uhh are you sure it's okay to let her go off like that?" Roughnut asked.

"Yeah," Toughnut chimed in, "won't your parent's get made if you lose her or something?"

Astrid just shrugged, "She'll be fine. There's nothing out that way other than trees." She pushed past the twins, who took one last look then followed her to training. Today they were working with the Deadly Nadder again, with only two days before graduation, and the day Chief Stoic and all the village would be watching. This was no time to be distracted by a kid.

XXX

Felsi climbed over logs like they were mountains. She hopped over a trickle of water like it was a giant river, playing and laughing the whole way. She stopped to stare at a line of ants going up a tree trunk before suddenly remembering why she was out there.

The way she spoke out loud to herself was the most adorable thing, if only anyone had been around to see it. "Oh Yeah! Where's sa dwagon!?" she put her hand to her head like she was an explorer squinting into the sun. A groundhog squeaked and scurried through the underbrush making enough noise to attract the child's attention. She squealed and giggled and ran towards the sound.

After nearly an hour of aimless walking through the trees Felsi began to get tired. The sun was still high in the sky but the trees above were thicker and covered the area, leaving her in a creepy twilight setting. She stopped and kicked a rock with her foot. She looked back and forth; her little pigtail flopped on the side of her head. Slowly it began to sink in that she didn't know where she was, or where her mommy was.

Her big brown eyes started to brim with tears.

The first tear had just leaked down her cheek, and she was about to start crying when a new sound distracted her. It was strange. Like nothing she'd ever heard before, a screechy sound. Curiosity overwhelmed uncertainty and she rushed off towards the noise.

She crawled dramatically over a couple of boulders before she found herself on the edge of a small cliff. A voice came from down below, "Come on pal! Give me my shield back, I'm already late." Something big pounded around from the same area. Felsi quickly wormed her way down one jutting rock to another till she reached the bottom. She squealed with delight and ran towards the shiny black dragon.

Hiccup nearly jumped out of his skin when Felsi's loud giggles echoed around the small valley. He frantically looked around for the source only to have Felsi blow right past him, as fast as her little legs would carry her. "No wait!" He quickly spun around trying to grab her but she was already running up to Toothless.

The poor dragon was so stunned by the squealy brown blur that it froze in place. The little girl ran right up and dove onto one of its legs, latching on. Hiccup ran over to grab her as Toothless lifted its front paw and tried to shake the new creature off. Felsi's gleeful noises only increased with her fun ride. Hiccup quickly worked to calm Toothless, reaching up and patting his head till he lowered it. Felsi still clung to the dragon's foot. She was breathing heavy but other than that seemed unscathed.

Hiccup kept a calming hand on Toothless as he knelt down by the girl. "Uhh… you're Felsi… right?" Hadn't that been the name Astrid had complained about yesterday?

The little girl cracked open one eye then the other. Seemingly she had only just realized that she was safely on the ground. Hiccup reached out and grabbed her under the arms, pulling her off of Toothless, who, the moment he was free, circled the small child and sniffed her quite a bit. She laughed and reached up to pet his nose.

Toothless flinched back for a second but then leaned into her touch. Hiccup was amazed. That took only a fraction of the time he'd spent waiting for his stubborn friend to even let him come near. "So uhh… Felsi?"

"It's a dwagon!" Felsi yelled and jumped to hug Toothless' head.

"Oh uhh… yes it is. So umm… how- How did you… you know… get here?" Seriously! No one ever came to this side of the island! Not to mention that if she told Astrid, or anyone else for that matter, he and Toothless would be pretty much done for. Hiccup tried asking a second time but she gave no answer. She just held on to Toothless' face and swayed from side to side.

Toothless didn't seem to mind. He began swaying with her. His echolocation flaps on his head purred softly. Hiccup stood back and watched fascinated. Felsi pat her hands on Toothless' hard scales, singing "Dwagon! Dwagon!" until her hands latched onto its nostrils. Toothless sneezed, knocking the child down.

Hiccup swore she was about to start crying, but little Felsi just stood up, brushed herself off, then blew her own boogers back at Toothless, to which it responded by pulling back and wiping its face off with its paw.

Hiccup laughed. "She got you good there buddy, didn't she." It always amazed him how human-like Toothless appeared when he gave Hiccup a clearly irritated look. "What are you looking at me for?" Toothless rolled his eyes and flapped his jaw, appearing to do a bad impression of Hiccup. Hiccup only laughed more. "Right back at you pal."

Toothless was obviously done with the conversation as he flapped off toward his favorite corner of the valley, the spot where he'd already charred the ground to sleep on. Hiccup chuckled and patted Felsi on the head, "And that means it's time to get back home," he said.

Felsi looked up at him then back at Toothless, "But I still want to play!" She took a few steps toward Toothless but Hiccup quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her back towards his usual exit.

"Sorry, but I have to get to dragon training." It was an effort getting her back up the rock face and through the woods. At the rate they were going He'd be nearly an hour late. If Astrid and the others didn't hate him before, they certainly would now. "Here, Felsi, do you want a piggy back ride?" She had been pouting but immediately broke into a smile. She was a little heavier than expected but it made it much faster to carry her back to the village.

Hiding just behind the first house after the bridge to the village, Hiccup let Felsi down and knelt to her eye level. "Now Felsi this is really important. I need you to keep the dragon a secret." Felsi blinked a couple times. "No one can know about him. Okay?" She still stared at him? "Can you do that for me?" Slowly the little girl nodded. Hiccup sighed in relief, "Great. Well let's get you home th-"

"Hiccup! What are you doing? Everyone's waiting to start your dragon training for the day."

It was the one voice that Hiccup didn't want to hear right now. His dad, Stoic the Vast, had spotted him from the bridge to the training arena. Ever since he'd returned with no luck finding the nest, and had heard about Hiccup's "Amazing Dragon Training Skills," it had been near impossible to sneak away to visit Toothless. To make matters worse, Felsi immediately ran happily towards him.

Stoic scooped the little girl up in his arms, "Well if it isn't little Felsi from Steinn. What were you off doing in the woods?" Despite the muscle mass of his arms, Stoic held her gently; he'd had tons of practice while raising Hiccup.

Felsi was all too happy to provide an answer, "I saw a dwagon!" Hiccup froze. Obviously asking nicely hadn't worked. If he and Toothless lived through this moment, he'd have to make sure to bribe Felsi properly.

Luckily his dad saw only her smile and didn't think she could have possibly saw a real dragon, "Oh didja now? Where at?"

"By Hiccup," she said, pointing right at him during his attempt to sneak away.

That caught Stoic's attention. He looked with concern at his son.

Hiccup's arms swung back and forth at his sides turning back casually to his dad, "Uh… yeah she was up by dragon training. I was just taking her home, but you're here and I'm gonna go, bye!" He took off running. Stoic called over to a nearby villager and asked her to take Felsi to her parents.

XXX

Late at night, hours after Felsi had been put to bed, her mother rushed into the room and shook her awake. The little girl rubbed her eyes, struggling to comprehend what she was being told. Even as she looked at her mother's face, her eyes were drooping. Felsi's mother sighed and scooped the girl up in her arms.

She carried her out of the house and ran through the village. Flashes of light and yelling filled the air. Curiosity overpowered the tiredness and Felsi forced her eyes open, just in time to see a stocky grunkle fly overhead. Her eyes sparkled in excitement and the firelight. She was so fascinated by the dragons that the little girl didn't even realize that the fires came from a house burning nearby.

The doors of the Great Hall were cracked open and a few men and women stood guard outside the doors. Dragons rarely came to this area, since the sheep were kept on the other end of the village, and the Hall had long ago been agreed upon as a safe place to keep any younger children. "Get inside sweetie. Mommy will be back in a bit."

Another woman ushered Felsi in to the rest of the kids. A few kids, Felsi's age and younger, slept on the benches, curled up in some raggedy blankets; a few of the older kids talked among themselves. One boy swung a toy wood sword saying that he was going to be a great dragon slayer like Chief Stoic. Felsi tilted her head and trotted over to the group.

They were all taller than her, but still not old enough to help during the raids. The boy who had been bragging before, and another boy his age, acted out a scene of slaying a dragon, the other boy acting as the dragon gurgled and made horrible, yet funny, noises as he held the toy under his arm pretending he'd just been slain.

Startled, Felsi squeaked, drawing the older kids' attention for the first time. The oldest girl smiled at her, "Do you want to play to?" she asked. Felsi vigorously shook her head.

"Da's bad…" Felsi's already small voice was muffled by her hands covering her mouth.

"Hmm? What's bad?" The boy who'd done the slaying asked. Felsi answered by pointing at the sword under the other boy's arm. The first boy laughed, "No it's okay. We were pretending he was a dragon." Laughing, the second boy growled lightly and held his hands up like claws. Whatever reaction they'd expected to get from Felsi didn't happen, instead she shook her head again, her little side ponytail swung back and forth.

"Don't hurt dwagons." She said. The older kids shared a confused glance. A second girl looked down on Felsi

"What do you mean, 'don't hurt dragons?' They're our enemies." The other kids nodded in agreement.

"NO!" Felsi shook her head again, harder and faster than before. Her cheeks puffed out in a pouting expression. "Dwagons are nice!" she said defiantly. The first boy laughed.

"Nice? Do you hear those yells out there? That's the dragons attacking our home. Our parents are fighting. So are yours." Felsi's pout remained unchanged and the boy just shook his head, "Whatever. Just ignore her. Come on guys, let's go build forts with the tables!" The other kids nodded their excited agreement and they all ran off, leaving Felsi by herself.

"Dwagons are nice." She mumbled to herself. She turned to the back door of the Hall and walked determinedly out. Even though it was dark, she wanted to prove that dragons were nice, and she was going to go find the nicest dragon she knew to do it.

XXX

Hiccup stared from the top of the crag looking down into the valley where the dragon who had become his best friend was running madly in circles. This was the first raid on the village since he had found Toothless. Even as his father had handed him his axe and helmet, telling him to come help in the raid, Hiccup knew that this wouldn't be good for his pal.

It was so dark. All he could see of Toothless was a slight shifting in the shadows, and the occasional desperate blast of blue fire.

"Oh bud…" Hiccup stared down into the darkness, "What's doing this to you?" His experience with the group of Terrible Terrors that evening had been the last proof he needed to know that not all dragons were bad, but then why did they raid the village? And why was this raid making Toothless unresponsive to his voice?

Was it worth the risk to climb down to try and calm Toothless?

Sounds of desperate scraping at the rock face told him it was. Hiccup hopped down to the next rock and froze. Toothless had stopped moving to. Hiccup stood as still as he could and listened again. Was that a scream? Toothless was back to his desperate attempts to escape.

"Sorry bud." Hiccup grabbed his shield and took off in the direction of the screams.

He could see where he was going before he got there. A dim glow of something on fire was enough to light up the entire area. The villiage had been lucky to have rain so often, which meant the fire wouldn't spread, but whatever had set the dragon off was still there. Hiccup ducked under a fallen tree and pulled his shield under after him. "Felsi?!"

The little girl was running in the dark towards him, screaming, a Monstrous Nightmare crawling across the ground behind her. Hiccup ran past the girl, stopping in front of the dragon. The Nightmare was only startled for a second, but that was enough time for Hiccup to drop his shield and calmly walk toward it. "It's okay. She's just a kid. No one's going to hurt you."

The dragon stared at him. Toothless's high pitched roar echoed across the landscape. The Nightmare blinked. It had better things to do than stare at a strange human. It turned and flew away. Once he was sure it was gone, Hiccup looked away to find Felsi.

Her shuddering sobs came out from beneath the log he'd pulled himself under only moments before. "Felsi?" He knelt down on one knee and reached his hand out for her. "It's alright now. The dragon is gone." Felsi slowly took his hand, and when he'd pulled her out she latched on to his chest with a tight hug. Her crying was quiet now as her face buried in his shirt. "What were you doing out here?"

"I…-hic- wan to… -hic- -sniff- see da dwagon."

Hiccup sighed. It wasn't good that she'd been attacked but it was probably better that she didn't see Toothless now. "Come on," he said hoisting her onto his hip, "Let's get you home okay?"

By the time they got back to the village, the raid was over and Felsi's parents were frantic. She was asleep when Hiccup handed her back to them. He told them how he'd found her in the woods, being chased by a Monstrous Nightmare. He hadn't intended to make it sound like he'd rescued her, but even after the parents thanked him and left, he heard some whispered voices saying how amazing it was that he'd "fought off a Monstrous Nightmare" to save the little girl.

Even his father gave him a hard pat on the back, "Tonight was a good night," he said. "Even though we saved all the sheep, if we'd lost Felsi, it would not have been worth it. You did good son."

Hiccup and the other teens taking part in Dragon training were rushed off to bed and relieved from clean up duty. After all, there was only one more training day left before one would be chosen as top of the class. They needed their rest.

By the time Hiccup woke the next morning, Felsi's family had already hopped a barge back to their village.


	2. One Dragon at a Time

_**A/N:** So I got the three reviews and as promised, here is the next chapter. Keep in mind that I was in a mood for writing last night which is not always the case so chapters will almost NEVER come out this fast. __But then again with the second movie about to come out on DVD in four days... I'm pretty psyched for it. I'll be buying it the moment it's out. _

_Also someone suggested I make my own dragon species for this story. I did originally have a species from the series picked out, but maybe I will try making my own. I'll try to not over power it while doing that. Not sure how this is going to work but we'll see._

_REVIEWS = MY MOTIVATION!_

_REVIEW FOR FASTER CHAPTERS!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 – One Dragon At A Time<strong>

The air was pleasantly warm with just the right amount of a breeze, as Astrid stretched out her arms letting go of the reigns she normally held while riding Stormfly. The Nadder chirped in excitement and startled Astrid with an impromptu back flip. Astrid barely managed to hold on with her legs. It didn't scare her in the slightest. The only response she gave to the silly action was to give Stormfly a light flick on her head frills.

"We should be seeing them soon," she told her. Stormfly squawked and dropped nearer to the water. Berk was only a speck on the horizon but there was no chance of getting lost with the dragon's strong sense of direction. She'd been told not to bother flying out when they didn't know exactly when the ship would be arriving, but Astrid just couldn't wait.

She thought back on her cousin who had been so eager to train dragons during her last visit. A lump caught in her throat thinking of how mean she'd been. Even with how annoyed she'd been at her little cousin hadn't prevented her from panicking when they realized she was missing after the raid.

"First thing I have to do is apologize," Astrid said to Stormfly, patting her neck. "Then maybe I can show her that she and Hiccup had the right idea all along, eh girl?" Stormfly squawked again, opening her mouth into a deadly dragon smile. The dragon made a sharp turn and began lowering in altitude again.

Astrid looked around her friends head and saw the off-white masts cresting the horizon. By now all the other Viking villages knew that Berk had dragons, so the chance of being shot at was low, but Astrid still pulled out her shield preparing to swing down to Stormfly's underbelly to block any premature arrows.

Both men and women gasped as Stormfly landed on the deck and Astrid jumped from her back.

Astrid's Aunt was the first to speak, "My goodness! Astrid!" She walked forward to give the girl a hug. "Just look at you-" Stormfly saw the hug her master gave and stuck her face in to join the fun, startling Aunt Helen "Oh- and you're friend here." The woman was hesitant as she held her hand out to the dragon but it just nuzzled against her with no sign of aggression or fear and the rest of the adults on the ship moved in to get a closer look.

Astrid broke out of the group letting Stormfly be the attention hog that she was, and looked for her cousin. She found Felsi below deck still asleep. Lightly, she shook the girl's shoulder.

Felsi swung on the hanging cot as she turned over to crack an eye open at Astrid. Her eyes bolted open and she sat up so fast she nearly fell out of the hammock. "Astrid!" The two hugged. "Are we at shore already?!"

Astrid shook her head. "The boat will probably take another hour with the slow wind today."

The nine year old girl stared at her. "But then… how are you-"

"I flew here!" Astrid smiled, estatic to tell her cousin, "on a Dragon!" When Felsi only stared at her, Astrid repeated herself, "Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah…" Felsi looked across the cabin then looked up when she heard thumping footsteps on deck.

Astrid laughed, "That's probably Stormfly. We should go make sure she's not knocking anyone overboard." She waved for her cousin to follow, but Felsi remained in place. "What's wrong? Don't you want to see my dragon?"

Felsi slowly shook her head, "Not really."

"What? Why not? You love dragons."

Felsi shrunk into her cot looking depressed. She'd been lucky. Once most of the dragons had been tamed by Berk, there hadn't been nearly as many attacks. She'd only seen any dragons maybe eight times in the last five years. She shivered and pulled the blanket up over her head.

Astrid stared at the swinging lump that was her cousin until her uncle came down the ladder. He beckoned Astrid to follow him back up top. Astrid's face fell as he explained Felsi's reaction. "She's been terrified of dragons ever since she was attacked in the forest. Even the two tame dragons that are back at our village, she won't go near."

"But that doesn't make any sense! She loved them!"

Her Uncle shrugged, "That's why we brought her with on this trip. We're hoping that visiting Berk might do her some good, even if the circumstances for the visit aren't the most pleasant." Word had just gotten around about everything that had occurred with Drago Bludvist and about the death of Stoic the Vast. The villiage of Stien, which had close ties with Berk, had immediately arranged a group to send with condolences.

Astrid's Uncle pat her shoulder, "Why don't you head back and let them know we've nearly arrived. I'm sure your new chief can figure out some way to help Felsi."

Astrid nodded and hopped back on Stormfly. The two of them took off and reached the rocky shores of Berk in less than ten minutes.

She dropped Stormfly off in the hanger to rest and jogged to the center of the village. She knew Hiccup had been there all morning working with Gobber and some of the other men on Repairs and upgrades that would be needed for the new dragons that were showing up nearly every day.

Toothless lounged not far away. The black dragon kept flicking his tail back and forth swatting at two baby Nadders and a baby Grunkle who just wouldn't leave the new Alpha alone. His eyes squished in an annoyed expression when the baby grunkle decided it was fun to climb on his tail and ride it as it flicked to and fro.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled, as she jogged over.

Hiccup looked up from the blueprints but looked back down right away, "Hey Astrid. How'd the scouting go?"

"I found the ship. They're less than an hour away."

Hiccup smiled, "Oh good. So did you get to see your cousin?" It was all she'd been talking about since word came back three days ago that her aunt, uncle, and cousin would be coming. Astrid's smile faded, but of course Hiccup didn't notice because he was intent on his work. When Astrid didn't respond within the first few seconds he looked up, "Something wrong?"

"Hiccup, she's afraid of dragons."

"Felsi is?" Astrid nodded. Hiccup sighed and put down his charcoal stick. He brushed his hands off on his shirt and stood from the table, collecting the completed diagram. "Well I guess that's not really a surprise. An attack like that would scare any kid. Heck, not even a month earlier and it would have even scared me." Astrid laughed. It wasn't hard to scare Hiccup back then. "Do did you figure out everything with the guest quarters?"

"You're mom and I had that sorted out yesterday."

"Oh well look at you two getting ahead of the game." Hiccup wrinkled his nose in mock offense. Not far away Toothless made a sound that showed his amusement. Hiccup laughed at the reaction and picked up the rest of his supplies. "Walk with me?" Hiccup directed the question toward Astrid but Toothless rolled over and yawned. Astrid laughed while Hiccup rolled his eyes. "He's gotten so lazy since he became the Alpha."

"And yet he still stomps on your roof every morning to go flying."

Hiccup nodded knowing she was right. The couple laughed about it as they made their way over to Gobber's. Hiccup put the plans down for Gobber to see. "Here's what I was thinking with the hatchery." Gobber looked over it and nodded.

"Oi don't think tha'll be too hard. What you think Grump? Ready fer some manual labor?" Grump snored from where his head filled the corner of the blacksmith's shed. Gobber laughed awkwardly. Hiccup just chuckled and shook his head, leaving Gobber to it.

Astrid followed him out. She'd hardly been paying attention to where they went as Hiccup talked to different people about the plans for the village. "What am I going to do?" She mumbled more to herself than anyone.

"About what?" Hiccup asked.

"About my cousin!"

"Okay okay, calm down." Hiccup wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Weren't there only two tame dragons at Stein?" Astrid nodded. "Well then maybe seeing loads of them helping out around here will get her to see things differently." He kissed her on the cheek. "Things'll work out. You'll see."

Astrid smiled. It was hard to be pessimistic around Hiccup. Even more so over these last two weeks when he took on the role of village Chief. "You're right," She said, smiling at him. "Come on." She tugged on his arm.

"Hang on where are we going?"

"You're place," she said, matter-of-factly. "The Chief can't greet his Viking brothers looking like a slob." Hiccup laughed as he was dragged off to change.

XXX

Felsi froze on the docks as her mother, father, and the others of the village all helped to carry their few supplies off the boat. They seemed barely the slightest bit nervous at the sight of the village, but Felsi… Felsi was petrified.

Not a single house was free from a dragon on, or flying over, its roof. Grunkles, Nadders, and- Monstrous Nightmares. Felsi was shaking as a boy Astrid's age flew overhead on the same dangerous creature that had nearly killed her.

"Well if it isn't little Felsi." Hiccup wandered over after he'd finished greeting all the adults. He squatted down to her eye level and smiled, "do you remember me?" Felsi nodded. She tried to hide the shaking, and if Hiccup noticed, he ignored it. "How old are you now?"

"…Nine."

Hiccup smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but something exploded in the center of the villiage making both him and Felsi jump. Looking up he saw it smoke coming from Gobber's shop. Hiccup sighed. "Grump probably farted into the furnace again." He stood up and held out a hand to Felsi. "Shall we go check it out?" Felsi looked from his hand to the column of smoke. "Don't worry," he told her, "I won't let any dragons get you."

Felsi puffed out her cheeks. She didn't like being treated like a little kid, but she didn't want to walk away from someone that could help keep the dragons away. Reluctantly she took his hand and the two of them walked up the boardwalk to the village.

The scene was just as Hiccup had predicted. This happened any number of times since Grump had found his way to Gobber nearly three years ago. Felsi remained beside Hiccup as he asked about the damages. She kept to the side that was furthest from where Grump was. She felt awkward standing next to him with so many people crowded around so she squeezed her way to the outside of the group. She looked around the village and nearly screamed when Toothless right up behind her and sniffed her hair.

She fell back scooting away from him. Toothless tilted his head. He recognized her smell. It was the little brown blur that blew her nose at him. He blew some air at her thinking it a funny and friendly gesture, but Felsi squeaked and scrambled away from him. He watched her shove her way back through people's legs.

Felsi ran and clung to Hiccup's arm. Hiccup was nearly knocked off balance from her impact into his side. He knelt down seeing how freaked out she was, "What happened?" he asked.

Felsi held tight to his arm and pointed out at Toothless, "It tried to eat me!"

Hiccup stood on his toes to see what dragon was over there, when he saw it was just Toothless staring back at him he laughed. He finished his conversation with Gobber and took Felsi by the hand, leading her over to Toothless. About ten feet away she dug in her heels. Hiccup stopped there and knelt down to reintroduce them.

"You remember Toothless, he was the one out in the valley outside the village." Felsi didn't nod or anything. Her eyes remained glued on the dragon. Hiccup smiled and pulled some dragon-nip from his pouch. "Hey Toothless, look what I got."

Immediately his friend's eyes went wide and his tail swung back and forth. Felsi's fear subsided slightly as she watched the silly antics. Hiccup walked up to Toothless and played keep away for a bit with the nip, making Toothless' head swing around in all directions trying to smell the grasses without stepping on Hiccup. Right when Hiccup saw that Toothless was getting ready to sit on him, he dropped the dragon nip and rolled out of the way, getting to his feet right next to Felsi.

He held out his hand toward Toothless rolling on the little handful of grass. "See? He's harmless."

Felsi looked at the dragon skeptically. She did remember this dragon from before. It had been nice. Hiccup stood by and watched as Felsi inched forward, her hand outstretched toward the dragon. When she was two feet away Toothless noticed, and stat up, distracted from his treat. He tilted his head as he watched her. When she was close enough he leaned in to her touch.

Felsi's knees went weak and she fell back. Toothless continued to sniff her until Hiccup walked up. "All the dragons on Berk are like that. Scaly on the outside, softies on the inside." Another smaller explosion came from behind them, startling them again. Hiccup laughed and added, "Just don't walk behind Grump."

Felsi nodded. Toothless was one thing. He didn't look scary, but she really didn't feel like going near any of the other dragons.

Hiccup, and Toothless, walked Felsi to the guest quarters where she and her parents would be staying. Astrid was outside talking to her Dad and Uncle as they came up. She smiled seeing her cousin walking next to Toothless. "Hey Felsi," she said as they walked up, "Feeling any better?"

Felsi shook her head, "I don't like it here."

"Aww how come? It looks like you made friends with Toothless."

"He's okay," the girl shrugged.

"Well would you like to meet my dragon?" Astrid didn't wait for an answer before putting her fingers to her lips. She whistled to Stormfly who had just been on the other side of the house and came stomping over. Felsi squeaked and ran behind Hiccup.

Hiccup smiled and pat her on the head. "One dragon at a time Astrid." The disappointment was obvious on her face. She scratched Stormfly's head then walked her back to the back yard. Hiccup looked around to see that Toothless had wandered off, apparently bored of his human's doings. Patting Felsi on the head, he told her he had to go check with mom about how the cooking for the banquet for the night was going. "It should make some good stress relief after the month that we've had." His eyes faded staring at something that wasn't there.

Felsi waited patiently. Her parents did that thing to. They always called it "reminiscing," whatever that meant. She didn't care to ask because it always led to long tales about the past. When he didn't move for nearly thirty seconds Felsi tugged on his arm. "Oh sorry," Hiccup mussed up his hair feeling awkward. "Well why don't you get settled in, and I'll see you later." Felsi gave a single nod. Hiccup released her shoulder, smiling, and headed off to Meade Hall.

Felsi stood there watching him go. Stormfly squawked from the back yard. Felsi shivered and scooted closer to the house. There were still tons of dragons flying around. Some of them were carrying wood or other heavy materials. They might have looked like busy worker bees if they weren't ginormous. Being alone with so many dragons around made her nervous, so the girl quickly went inside.

XXX

Felsi walked up with her family to Meade Hall that evening. Some villagers were making their way as well, while others were walking their dragons down to the hanger. "Felsi, don't cling so tight. You'll make me trip," her mother warned.

Felsi couldn't help it. There were too many around. Was there anywhere in the village that _didn't_ have a dragon? Lucky for Felsi, when they arrived at Meade Hall the only dragon in there was Toothless who was curled up behind the head table. Hiccup sat up there with his mom, Astrid, and a few of the other village VIPs looking completely nervous.

Astrid nudged him when Felsi and her family entered the hall. "Did you see the way she ran through that door? Everyone's taking their dragons to the hanger for the storm tonight. Can she really not even walk past them?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "No Astrid," he said forcing calm into his voice, "I didn't see. Know why? Because _I'm stuck up here at the HEAD TABLE!"_ he hissed in a whispered shout. This was the first time they'd used Meade Hall for anything more than the usual meetings, and Astrid and his mother had insisted he sit up where his Father used to. He felt horribly awkward and small sitting in his Dad's chair, and had been completely against the idea.

Astrid waved off his irritation, "You're fine." Hiccup groaned and slouched back in the chair. Astrid smiled but her eyes remained on Felsi. Some other kids had gone up to talk to her, probably interested in where she came from.

The kids bombarded Felsi with questions. She answered them as best she could, and was almost having fun until one boy asked what kind of dragons lived at her village. Felsi shrugged nervously. "We don't really have dragons." The kids looked at her shocked.

"But how do you fix houses after storms?" The ages of the kids ranged from a year older than Felsi to a couple years younger. Either way, they were all so young that most of their lives had been spent with dragons, and they couldn't remember much from before them.

Felsi looked at the ground unsure how to answer. The oldest boy of the group pounded his chest, "I just got my first dragon. It's the baby Sculdron that Hiccup found two months ago." The younger kids stared at him in awe but Felsi just looked alarmed. The kids didn't notice and started talking about what kind of dragons were their favorites. It was almost unanimous agreement that Nightfury was the coolest, but each child had his or her own personal preference. When one girl declared her love for Nightmares, Felsi shuddered and quickly moved away.

The noise in the hall lowered when Hiccup stood to give the toast. In reality he was just saying what Astrid was telling him to say, only louder. He should have paid more attention back when his dad was doing this over the years, but had always found his mind was somewhere else. Hiccup was so nervous he hardly even realized what he was saying, but whatever it was, it did the trick. Everyone in the Hall clanked their tankards together and drank to the village and the dragons. Toothless let out his own little chortled cheer.

Hiccup sunk back into this seat relieved that it was over as people got up and made their way to the food table. Hiccups mom came back over smiling, she set two plates down for him and Astrid, "I forgot how lively these events always were." There was both excitement and sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, me to." Hiccup laughed. He poked at his food but didn't eat. He didn't mind the stares when they were working on some project in the village, but sitting in the Hall and just having people watching him eat?

He scooted his chair back and grabbed a fish to toss to Toothless, who caught and slurped it up. Hiccup sat down by his friend, "I don't know bud. Maybe I'm not cut out for this." He really wanted out of there but there really wasn't a reason to leave, and it'd definitely be noticed if he did. Toothless nudged his head into his friend's arm, who absentmindedly patted his scales.

Hiccup watched the antics in the room. Gobber was already dancing on one of the tables, and everyone around was clapping and singing along. The kids were running around the empty space in the back corner playing some sort of game. A couple of the tables were crowded with women talking about their kids, and one table was occupied by only an old man who grumbled under his breath about how dragons were ruining the village.

The candles flickered as a breeze came through the opened back door of the hall, and Hiccup saw Felsi slip through it.

"You alright?" Astrid asked, coming over.

Hiccup quickly hopped up, "Oh yeah. I'm fine. Just that Toothless here… is getting tired." Toothless lifted his head and looked at Hiccup. Hiccup nudged him with his metal foot. "Aren't you bud?" Toothless gave the fakest yawn ever, and Astrid had to laugh.

"Alright, your mom and I will cover for you." She said kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks Astrid." Hiccup returned the peck on her lips and patted Toothless. The two quietly made their way to the back door. Though since one of them was a large black dragon and the other was the chief of the village, nearly everyone saw them leaving. No one from Berk said anything though as they went back to their merrymaking.


	3. A New Dragon Appears

**_A/N: _**_Boy am I hyped up! I saw Big Hero 6 in theaters yesterday (or the day before because technically it's past midnight (actually it's almost morning... gawd I should sleep)) and I'm super hyped about creating new stories. I haven't had any ideas for Baymax but I might at some point. For now I have to be satisfied with LDT while I wait for HTTYD2 to come out on DVD in WHOO! two days! So excited!_

_I re-watched the first movie and saw that my timeline for the days is a bit off. I'm hoping you guys can forgive me for that. If you can't then just leave a nasty review. It's not hard for me to fix, I'm just lazy._

_But so anyway! I took some advice/request from someone who reviewed the first chapter and decided to make my own dragon species! There is a link at the bottom to an unfinished sketch of the dragon just to give you a basic idea of how it looks. Hopefully by reading the description within this chapter though you can get a pretty good idea of how this new babe is. I hope you guys like it!_

_R&R please!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 – A New Dragon Appears<strong>

Felsi escaped from the suffocating atmosphere of the hall, standing just outside the door. The tree line was only a few feet in front of her, and she knew that going in it was just asking for trouble. She'd already been attacked in those woods once, and that was more than enough, so instead she walked around the hall, across the path that lead up to the Chief's house, and sat at the cliff facing the water's edge.

The full moon sparkled off the water and everything was quiet except for the sloshing of the waves. Felsi stared at the horizon. "What am I even doing here…?" she whispered to herself. The door of the Hall creaked open and Felsi looked back to see Hiccup and Toothless ducking out into the shadows. _Please don't notice me, _she thought.

The two of them walked up the hill toward Hiccup's home. Some clinking metal sounds came from the area. Felsi watched until she saw a dark shadow take off into the starry sky. Well at least if they were flying they wouldn't bother her.

A loud splash came from below, like the sound of a rock breaking off the cliff. Felsi looked down to see a small whirlpool spiraling below her. As whatever-it-was sunk, the pool slowed and vanished. Felsi stared at it for a while. After about five minutes the whirlpool returned water sprayed up from the center of it. Then again after a minute it slowed and vanished.

The pattern repeated itself several times before Felsi's curiosity got the better of her. She looked all around the village, then closed her eyes to listen for the sounds of any dragons. Everything was quiet. Carefully she went over to the boardwalk which led down the cliff to lower areas of the village. The wooden boards were drilled deep into the rock face, and each one of them looked like they'd just been replaced in the last few days.

Felsi looked again for signs of dragons. Still nothing. She moved down to the next area of ground. The whirlpool was still spraying water and then vanishing. She knelt a few feet from the edge looking down at the strange water feature. What is it?

"Felsi?"

Flapping wings blew air in her direction and a few trotted steps pounded the ground behind her. Felsi whipped around, lucky that she'd remained back from the cliff's edge or she might have fallen off.

Hiccup unhooked himself from Toothless' saddle and pulled off his helmet, stowing it under his arm. "What are you doing out here?" Felsi stared at him nervously. Hiccup saw her look and smiled seeing that she thought she was about to be scolded. "Couldn't breathe in there, huh?" Felsi shook her head. Hiccup laughed. "Yeah me neither."

He walked to the edge and sat down by her. "So what you looking at?" he asked.

Felsi pointed to where the whirlpool had just faded. "That. What is that?"

Hiccup followed her finger to the water, but didn't see anything strange. "What's what?"

"Wait, it'll come back in a second." The two of them watched the spot but the whirlpool didn't resurface. Felsi scrunched up her face annoyed. Now he was going to think she was lying. "I really did see it. There was a whirlpool that spit water out."

Hiccup watched the water carefully, "Well, it could have been a dragon. I don't see any shadows but that doesn't mean much since it _is _dark. With Toothless and my Mom around, there have been a good number of Tidal Class dragons swimming these waters."

Felsi's shoulders hunched and she scooted back, right up under Toothless' chin. She startled when Toothless sniffed her hair. Hesitantly she patted his nose when he put his face beside her. He lay down with his head between her and Hiccup. She still looked disturbed by the dragon's presence but at least she wasn't scooting away like she had been on the walk earlier that day.

Hiccup stretched out his arms and flopped back on to the grass. "So Felsi, what kind of stuff do you like to do?"

"Drawing."

"Oh really?" Hiccup smiled, "anything you really like drawing?"

Felsi shrugged. "Fish."

"So you like animals?" Felsi shook her head.

"Not really." Hiccup stifled a chuckle. Was he _ever_ going to get her to say a full sentence? The kids around her age on Berk were all chatterboxes. Yet Felsi was so quiet. He lay there thinking of another question to ask but before he could Felsi continued. "I like swimming." Well it _was_ a full sentence. "But I don't like it here."

"Too many dragons?"

Felsi nodded.

Hiccup didn't press the issue. Her family was planning to stay for a few weeks so he'd have plenty of chances to talk to her later. Pushing her now would probably only make her avoid him. He knew what it was like to be forced into something. Even worse, he knew what it felt like to be scared to try, and that was probably most of what Felsi was going through. But still… he did promise Astrid that he'd do what he could.

Toothless sneezed loudly beside them. Hiccup laughed, "Yeah I guess it is a bit cold out here. How about you Felsi? You think it's cold or should Toothless here just toughen up?"

Felsi laughed a little as Toothless rolled over to squash Hiccup. "Okay okay! I give!" Toothless rolled off of him. Hiccup breathed deep trying to recover the air that had been pressed out of him. "Call him a baby and he squashes me." Toothless purred lightly.

"Why is it like that?"

"Huh? Oh he's just being a goof. Aren't ya, bud." Toothless flicked his head and snapped his jaw in agreement.

Felsi shook her head. Her eyes sparkled with the water below them. "No I mean, why is he friendly?"

Hiccup sat up and leaned over Toothless' head, looking at the little girl. Her knees were tucked in tight, hugged by her arms. Brown hair with a single pigtail tied off the right side blew in the light breeze. The vest that had been tied to her waist by a leather strap was now up over her shoulders. It almost looked like the one he used to wear. It was too dark to really see her eyes but her face looked scared.

"Nearly all dragons are friendly. They're only scary when they feel like they have to defend themselves. Back when you last came here, we didn't understand them like we do now, and we fought with them. They were scared so they fought back."

Felsi said nothing as Hiccup finished his explanation. There had still been a few attacks back at her village after the time when Berk had supposedly "tamed" the dragons. Her family wasn't fighting them. They were defending their home and food. No one did anything to scare the dragons into attacking. She didn't believe it. She couldn't. It made no sense.

Felsi sighed and rolled on her side away from Hiccup and Toothless. Contrary to Hiccup's joke earlier, it wasn't cold out. It was comfortably warm. A perfect night to sleep outside; Felsi thought about letting herself nod off. It would get her out of this annoying conversation. Why did everyone insist on telling her that dragons weren't scary? Couldn't they just leave her alone?

A splashing sound came from below them. Felsi's eyes opened and she quickly sat up to look. Just below was the splashing whirlpool. She knelt right on the edge of the cliff and pointed down. "Look! Right there!"

"Felsi careful! You're too close!"

A dragon roar echoed from the hanger, causing Felsi to jolt and lose her grip on the rock. She was leaning too far forward. Hiccup slid forward trying to grab Felsi's leg. Toothless did the same. They bumped heads and both missed.

The impact with the water hit Felsi hard. The air was slammed from her lungs, and arms and legs ached and didn't respond to the feeble commands of her near unconscious brain. A dark shadow passed under Felsi as she blacked out.

Hiccup was on Toothless in a matter of seconds and they dove off the cliff. Toothless barely had time to turn himself as the water beneath them exploded. Toothless and Hiccup circled around to see what had nearly hit them. A medium sized dragon with only front legs and a long arrow-head-shaped tail few from the water. Felsi hung from its mouth.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled. The two of them were so in sync that he needn't have bothered. The spun around and flew after the dragon which took off over the village. "Don't attack it. We might hit Felsi."

The mystery dragon flew a circle around the village. Hiccup watched carefully trying to figure out what it would do next. The dragon only continued flying. "Okay bud, try using the Alpha command. Make it land somewhere."

Toothless growled. The ribs along his spine began to glow blue. A deep rumble came from his throat and his echolocation flaps twitched on his head. The dragon stopped in the air and turned to face them. Toothless screeched and gestured to the ground with his head.

The mystery dragon tilted its head, with Felsi's legs dangling wildly. Toothless roared again. The mystery dragon flicked its head up and tossed Felsi into the air, catching her with its front paws, and also scaring Hiccup half to death. "What's wrong? Why won't it listen?" Only babies and other Alphas could ignore the commands. That thing was no baby, and it didn't seem like an Alpha either.

Toothless tried one more time, but the dragon remained aloft. Hiccup patted his head. "Okay, don't worry about it. Stop, for now." The blue glow faded. The moment it was gone, the mystery dragon flipped and dropped to the ground. "WHAT?! Toothless Go!" Hiccup urged Toothless on and they landed beside the dragon. It purred much like Toothless as it nudged the unconscious girl's face.

Hiccup unhooked himself and climbed down slowly. The last thing they needed was to startle the dragon into picking up Felsi and flying away again. The dragon watched Hiccup as he came closer.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Hiccup took each step as slow as he could. The dragon didn't so much as tense when Hiccup was only a few steps away. "Hi there." Hiccup put a hand out to the dragon's nose. Just like he'd done with Toothless he held his hand still and waited for the dragon to respond.

The dragon stared at his hand for nearly a minute before it leaned in, giving him the okay to touch it. Hiccup pat the dragon as he knelt down to check on Felsi. She was still breathing. Nothing looked obviously broken. "Toothless, Go get my mom and Astrid. Bring them to Astrid's house." Toothless nodded and dashed up the hill.

Hiccup carefully slid his arms under Felsi's limp body. Supporting her head against his chest, he began carrying her to Astrid's. Thumping footsteps along with a rough sliding of scales on earth followed him. Hiccup looked back to see the dragon following. "Alright come. But don't touch anything."

Whether the dragon understood him or not he didn't wait to figure out. He had to look after Felsi before he could see to the new dragon.

Hiccup had just laid Felsi down on the bed when Astrid, came running through the door. "Hiccup! What's going on! What is that dragon?!"

"Something happened with Felsi. I haven't had a chance to look at the dragon yet. I assume that's what my mom is doing."

Astrid nodded as she hurried to the other side of the bed. She placed her hand on Felsi's forehead. It was cold. Astrid quickly grabbed more blankets and got a fire started in the hearth. "What happened?"

Hiccup stood beside the bed staring at Felsi. He was a nervous wreck. "I flew around with Toothless for a bit when we saw Felsi. She mentioned something about a whirlpool and when she saw it again she got too close to the edge of the cliff and fell. I tried to grab her but I missed, and then this dragon flew out of the water with her in its mouth. Toothless used his Alpha command to make it land but it just kept flying around. It finally landed but Felsi was still unconscious. Astrid, I'm so sorry."

Astrid stood and walked around the bed, "It's alright." She said, pulling him into a hug. Stay here. I'm going to get my aunt and uncle. Hiccup nodded. He was still shaking a bit. He'd already seen one person die in the last month, and that was more than enough.

A minute after Astrid left, Hiccup's mom came up the stairs. "You should have a look at him." She said, hugging her son from behind, and kissing him on the head. "He's beautiful."

"Later." They stood in silence for a minute. Then Hiccup turned around and returned the hug. "How am I supposed to be chief if I can't even help a little girl, let alone protect her?"

"It's not your fault this happened." His mother smiled, "But it sure is lucky you were there to save her."

"I didn't though. The dragon did."

"You give yourself too little credit. You carried her here and sent Toothless to get us didn't you?"

Reluctantly Hiccup nodded. He really didn't think he was giving too little credit. He should have told Felsi to move back sooner. Hiccup rubbed his eyes as the sounds of Astrid's family stomped through the door and up the stairs.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Felsi's father demanded, while her mother ran to her bedside. Hiccup explained everything, slightly better than he had when he'd first described it to Astrid. Even though he was supposed to be the responsible leader, Hiccup felt more like a child getting in trouble for playing too rough. When he finished explaining Felsi's father heaved a sigh. "That girl always was too curious for her own good," he said.

Felsi's mother smiled, stroking her daughter's head. "Thank Odin you were there. That's twice now that you've saved her." Her eyes streamed tears as she repeatedly thanked Hiccup. When Hiccup could no longer take it he excused himself and went downstairs by Astrid.

"How is she?"

"Still unconscious. What happened at Meade Hall when Toothless busted in?"

"Oh you know, mass hysteria, and a couple screams about Nightfurys, the usual." Astrid pushed Hiccup's arm.

"Oww… And what was that for?" He asked waiting for her usual two part response.

Astrid shrugged, "To get you to stop worrying. She'll be okay. You saved her."

"I hope you're right, Astrid."

"Sure I am." Astrid kissed him and took his hand. "Here. Let's go look at the new guest outside." Hiccup nodded and waited for Astrid to grab a candle. They went outside hand in hand.

In front of the house stood two dark shadows staring at one another. One of them was the unmistakable silhouette of Toothless, while the other was the mystery dragon. It was too dark to see either one clearly. Even the full moon and cloudless starry sky did little to define their shadows. These were dragons made for the dark.

"What do you make of him, bud?" Hiccup asked the shadow of his friend.

Toothless snapped his jaw at the newcomer, and the two continued to stare each other down. Hiccup's mother laughed as she came out the door. "That there's a stubborn one," she said. She walked carefully toward the dragon. Slower, and more cautious than Hiccup had ever seen. She didn't try to reach for the dragon but waved Hiccup and Astrid forward. "See how he hasn't moved. Even the calmest of dragons will flap their wings at some point."

Hiccup saw it. "So what should we do just leave him here?"

His mother nodded. "I get the feeling he won't be going anywhere. 'Least not for the night." The three of them backed off a bit before his mother ruffled up his hair. "Leave this to me. I'll watch him through the night, while you got and explain the situation to those waiting back in the hall."

Hiccup nodded, and he and Astrid walked back up to Meade Hall.

XXX

Hiccup didn't sleep well that night, and was surprised when the early morning roof pounding didn't occur. He banged his head when he realized he'd forgotten to take Toothless' saddle off. Poor guy was probably stiff and tired of it by now. Groaning, Hiccup rolled out of bed.

The sun was barely cresting the horizon and the ground was wet with dew. Hiccup jogged to Astrid's house, shielding his eyes from the sun. When he arrived things were exactly as he had left. Toothless and the mystery dragon were still staring at each other, though Toothless had moved significantly, and his mother was leaning against the wall watching them.

"It's remarkable," she said as he walked over. "He'd not but moved his head the whole night. At one point your boy there went sniffing a circle around him and his neck expanded to a big balloon. When Toothless came back to his front, he blew out all the air. I felt it even from over here."

Hiccup stared at the dragon during her explanation. In the rising sun he could see the large deep blue scales that ran its back, from neck to tail. The dragon really did only have two front legs. A few scales of the same blue covered its knees. Its head and snout were extremely wide and flat on the front. Its nostrils poked out the top of the snout, and the mouth looked like it opened extremely wide. Between its eyes was another crest of that dark blue color, but this one looked more like a squashed skull protrusion than a scale.

Covering its sides and belly were smaller lighter colored scales, nearing white on the underbelly. The scales of the neck were so small that Hiccup couldn't even tell if they were actually there, or if that was just bare skin.

Its tail was shaped like an arrow and had the same distinct color pattern as its wings which appeared to be scattered circles over the thick skin flaps. Overall it was unlike any other dragon Hiccup had ever seen.

He and his mom were still staring at it when it suddenly turned its head to star at the house. They looked back just as Astrid came out the door, smiling. "Felsi's awake."


	4. The New Curiosity

_**A/N:** Hey guys! __This chapter took a little bit longer than the others but that's actually pretty normal. When I first start a story I'm excited and do a ton of writing but then it tapers off until chapters come at maybe one a month. Leaving reviews reminds me that a story needs to be updated, so keep that in mind. _

_Also I did some research into the series and realized that I might have mentioned some characters (relatives of Astrid) who might not have existed in the series. Not sure what to do about it so I'll just keep writing as if I hadn't read any of it. I'll hopefully be leaving the "adults" mostly out of the story and keeping to Hiccup and the gang + Felsi. _

_I actually did draw a picture of the dragon. If you're having trouble getting a visual image of it then type into your browser  fav .me/ d85nndd without the spaces, with the H-t-t-p :/ /_

_Yes I do find it annoying that links can't be posted in chapters but I guess it does make sense._

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 – Curiosity<strong>

The curtains were pulled partly across the windows when Hiccup climbed the stairs to the second floor. Felsi's mother was holding her daughter's hand and talking to her softly, asking if there was anything she needed, "Anything at all." Tears of joy were streaming down the woman's face when Felsi asked for some water. Astrid ran down to get her some.

Felsi's father saw him come up and gave him a hard pat on the back. "She's here thanks to you, and don't you forget it." The hardened Viking sniffed and turned away. Hiccup couldn't help but smile and squeeze the man's shoulder. He walked past and sat down on the empty stool by the bed.

"So… how are you feeling, Felsi?"

Felsi smiled a little as she looked up at him. "Everything hurts."

Hiccup smiled, "Not a surprise after the dive you took." Felsi nodded and looked at her mom.

"Can I sit up?"

Asking for water, and to sit up? Felsi was one tough little girl. Thinking about it, Hiccup remembered her being that way when she'd first met Toothless. _Nothing much phases her._ Hiccup ran that last thought through his head again, watching as Felsi and her mom worked some pillows behind the girl's back to help her sit upright.

If she's this tough, how did one dragon scare her so badly? Not to mention everything he'd learned from his mom told him that the dragon had no reason to attack her that night. So why did it?

Astrid came up the stairs with a cup filled with cool water and handed it to her aunt. While Felsi was taking a drink Hiccup caught Astrid's eye. He jerked his head toward the stairs. Astrid glanced at the stairs then nodded. Astrid gave Felsi another hug then the two of them left the house.

"What is it?" Astrid asked, soon as the door shut behind them. Hiccup's Mother stood to join them.

"I don't know exactly. Something is bothering me." Hiccup paced back and forth while Astrid and his Mom watched. "Five years ago, when I found Felsi being chased by that dragon, she was only four years old." His pacing didn't cease as he gestured to his Mom, "but we both know that dragons don't attack innocent children."

"Hiccup," Astrid argued, "You were attacked by dragons loads of times before you were a threat. Well... You know what I mean." Hiccup nodded. He couldn't count the number of times he'd been rescued by his Dad or one of the other Vikings.

"But that's the difference. I always had one of my contraptions or a weapon. Felsi was just a kid."

"Dragons don't attack for nothing," Hiccup's Mom said, smiling. "But if they were already worked up from an attack, accidents can happen."

Hicucp nodded, "That's what I was thinking. When I was watching Felsi yesterday I noticed she didn't like walking next to Toothless but when Toothless came up to her she didn't have too much of an issue petting him, and then when we were sitting together last night she scooted away from the water when I said there might be a dragon, yet she didn't react when Toothless laid down between us."

Astrid scrunched her face trying to figure out where he was going with, "What's your point?"

Hiccup looked over at Toothless and the mystery dragon. Both of them were watching him. "My point is, what if Felsi isn't actually afraid of dragons? What if she's scared she might startle them?" He took three steps towards the mystery dragon, "Think about it. On that night, Felsi told me she'd gone out looking for Toothless. Maybe she thought she'd found him and did the same thing she'd done when she first saw him."

"And what exactly was that?"

"She ran over and grabbed on to his leg. It startled Toothless pretty bad and he started flailing his foot around trying to throw her off."

Hiccup's Mom took a deep breath. "That is a good way to startle a dragon. I've seen adults attack hatchlings when the hatchling runs under their belly suddenly." Hiccup smiled and gestured to his Mom with both hands. That nearly proved it. They'd just have to ask Felsi about it.

While Hiccup and his Mom were smiling, Astrid still wasn't convinced. "What difference does it make if she's afraid of them or afraid of scaring them?"

Hiccup took her hands beaming. "It makes all the difference, if we show her what to do in order to avoid startling them." Now Astrid got it, but it still wouldn't work. She told him that she'd heard her aunt and uncle planning to leave once Felsi was well. Hiccup ran his hand through his hair. He didn't like the idea of letting someone who liked dragons go on acting like they're afraid of them. "We'll explain things to them later. For now we'll see what we can do with this guy."

XXX

The village was coming to life around them. Everyone was crowding in to stare at the dragon. Hiccup and his mom had tried everything, EVERYTHING, to get the dragon to move. They tried coaxing and leading it with food. They tried dragon nip and leading other dragons past it. His mother even tried some of her special tricks. Not only did it ignore them, it just kept staring at the second floor window of Astrid's house.

Hiccup's mom scratched her head, "Well I'm not sure what to do now."

Hiccup groaned. All of his mom's years of dragon knowledge and she was out of ideas. He scratched Toothless' neck, who was standing beside him. Well this dragon wasn't hurting anyone. I just kept staring at where Felsi was. "Felsi might be the only one who can get it to move." His mother nodded her agreement.

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup turned back to see Mulch and Bucket making their way over. They'd been working on expanding the villages fish storage. He looked at Astrid and his Mom, "Just leave it. Astrid needs to go to the training arena, anyway." Astrid sighed realizing he was right. Three kids had just gotten their first dragons and she'd been assigned the job of teaching them how to care for their new friends.

Hiccup's mom decided to go help with the training, since one of the boys had been having problems, and Hiccup went with Mulch and Bucket. People passed by the dragon looking at it with curiosity. A few of the kids tried to walk up and pet it but when the dragon didn't respond to them they left thinking maybe it wasn't real.

It was nearly noon before anyone else emerged from the house and the dragon looked down from the window. The sparrow which had been perched on its head, startled and flew away, squawking angrily. Felsi's mother stared at the dragon. Her eyes narrowed before she turned away and walked up the path toward Gothi's hut.

About a minute later Felsi's father came out as well. He looked one way then the other and sighed. "I don't s'pose you know where she went do yah?" he asked the dragon, not expecting a response. The dragon turned its head pointing up the path. The man stared at it, surprised. He looked up the path, then back at the dragon, before nodding his head. "Uh… Thanks." He shut the door behind him and hurried off after his wife.

Felsi sat alone in the room. Why her… and why was it always here… Even though her village still had an occasional dragon attack she never had any problem staying hidden or avoiding them. Was Berk just jinxed for her? She sighed, thinking about how her Mom had suggested leaving.

"I want to spend time with Astrid, but…"

A high "chip" sound echoed through the room. Felsi sat up further and looked around. There it was again!

Against her mother's warnings to stay in bed, and the groaning of her own body, Felsi clambered out of the covers and crawled around the floor searching for the source of the sound. It _had_ to be a mouse! _How cute,_ she thought, smiling, but despite her searching Felsi couldn't find the source. The noise started again when she stopped moving. She was next to the stairs, "Maybe down there?"

She took the hard wood steps carefully. Her legs were sore and felt like they'd give out at any moment. At the base of the stairs she slowly poked her head out looking across the large room that made up the whole first floor. It was a little on the warm side but it was empty of people, and that's what Felsi wanted. Her smile grew brighter and she returned to searching for the mouse.

The "chip" sound continued steadily, but another noise was growing. It sounded like a number of people were gathering outside the front door. Felsi tilted her head. She gave the room one last look before going to, and opening the door.

"Wha'do you think its dooin?" the voice of a man said. His back was turned to Felsi but she could see that he was talking to Hiccup, who had heard the noise from across the village.

"I'm not sure."

Felsi closed the door behind her. She wanted to see what they were all looking at. Hiccup heard the door thud softly and looked back. "Felsi, you feeling okay to be up?" Felsi nodded and leaned to the left to look past him. The blue-gray dragon stopped its chirping when it saw her. Hiccup looked back at the dragon then at Felsi. An amused smile crossed his face. "Well I guess we know what it was doing now."

Felsi took a step back toward the door. She looked torn between curiosity and the urge to run back inside. Hiccup put his hands up in a calming gesture, "It's alright, Felsi. This dragon is the one that rescued you last night." He tried to gauge her reaction, but was shoved out of the way as the dragon lumbered past. Felsi panicked slightly and backed up until she hit the wall.

The dragon stopped inches in front of her, and chirped again. Hiccup watched the scene unsure what to do. He had the feeling that the dragon wouldn't hurt Felsi, but he wasn't so sure Felsi wouldn't do something. "It's okay! It won't hurt you." He tried to put calm into his voice.

Felsi still felt afraid and wanted to run, but the dragon was blocking her way. Its eyes looked at her much like the way Toothless had the night before. Slowly Felsi reached out her hand towards its nose. The dragon didn't give her a chance to finish her brave action and leaned forward into her hand. Felsi jumped and pulled her hand away.

What happened next, no one expected. The dragon folded up its wings and rolled onto its right side, away from Hiccup and the crowd. It kept rolling until it was no longer facing the house. Once it had righted itself, the dragon flapped its long wings and made a sort of clumsy gallop forward before taking off into the air, kicking up a cloud of dust with its two mighty wings.

"You think it's gone for good?" a man asked.

Hiccup shook his head. "No, I'm extra sure it will be back."

The dragon had barely cleared the cliffs before it folded its wings and dove straight down, fast enough to make a falcon jealous, into the water. Hiccup shook his head again, staring in amazement. There was no end to the uniqueness of dragons. He looked back and Felsi, excited to see she was still looking at where the dragon had disappeared.

"Well Felsi, are you interested in training a dragon?

XXX

It wasn't until late in the evening that Hiccup had time to go speak with Felsi's parents. Felsi hadn't really said anything when he'd first asked her, but even if she had, he knew he'd have to okay it with them. Astrid warned him on his arrival that his Aunt was already upset about the idea which had been jokingly suggested by Astrid's father. She was even more upset when Hiccup seriously suggested it.

"Absolutely not!" Felsi's mother shouted. She wagged her finger in Hiccup's face until she'd backed him into the table. A wooden cup fell to the floor. "I'll not have my daughter be injured again! We're leaving first thing in the morning!" She turned her back on him attempting to end the conversation, but Hiccup took it as a chance to make his rebuttal.

"If you'll just hear me out… The dragon isn't going to hurt Felsi. I think it actually likes her-"

The woman whipped back. "Like her for a snack I bet! You said it yourself! The dragon five years ago would have eaten her! Now you expect me to put her into that little training school of yours?! Rán be on your side because I'll toss you into the sea afore I let Felsi anywhere near those monsters again!"

"You don't understand- I can teach her how to get along with dragons. Then they won't attack her anymore-"

"I don't want to hear another word about it! Now you best get out of my brother's house affor I chase you out!"

Hiccup held up his hands, in his own defense. The woman really looked like she was preparing to bean him with the cup she'd picked up from the floor. "Alright I'll go. But if I could just talk to Felsi first."

"OUT!"

"Mama?"

Everyone in the room, which included Hiccup, Astrid, and Felsi's and Astrid's parents, immediately looked to the stairs where Felsi stood in her night gown. She looked from her mother to Hiccup.

"Go back to bed dear, Chief Haddock was just leaving."

Felsi ignored her mother and stared at Hiccup. "Can you really do that? Make it so dragons won't attack me I mean…" She ducked her head under her mother's gaze. Hiccup however, smiled.

"Sure. Of course I can, but that's only if you're willing to get to know them." From the corner of his eye, Hiccup saw the muscles in Felsi's mother's shoulders tense. He needed to convince Felsi quickly or he really _would_ be thrown out. "Most dragons are really nice."

"Like your dragon?" Something getting close to excitement shone in the young girl's eyes.

Hiccup smiled, "That's right. Just like Toothless. As a matter of fact, there's one nice dragon that… I think… really wants to get to know you."

Felsi's gaze dropped to the floor, thinking of the dragon from that morning. There had been blue sparkles hitting the house from the light bouncing of that dragon's scales. It was really pretty. She _did_ really want to see the scales up close, and the dragon hadn't _actually_ done anything other than touch her hand with its nose. Not to mention that it _did_ rescue her from the water.

Slowly Felsi looked up. "Will it be scary?"

Hiccup opened his mouth to reassure her when Astrid jumped in excitedly, "Definitely not! Dragons are the best things ever, they're fun and loving, and take as much care of you and you do of them." Hiccup laughed and nodded.

"She's right. A dragon will be your best friend for life."

Felsi smiled just a little, "Okay. I want to try," she said, however her mother decided to rain on the parade.

"Absolutely not. We're leaving tomorrow and that's final!" Hiccup, Astrid, and Felsi each turned to argue when Felsi's father finally had enough of staying silent.

"Aw let 'em have their fun. You can't protect her forever." He cupped his wife's face in his hand before turning to his daughter. "Remember now, this won' not be easy, an' you can't quit in the middle, understood?" Felsi quickly nodded. Her father smilled, "Tha's my tough little girl." He looked up at Hiccup, "Alright then, you can have her in the morning. For now though, it's bed time. Off with ya now." He shooed his daughter, who ran up the stairs, quickly and happily.

Hiccup quickly thanked him and hurried from the house before Felsi's mother could have the chance to follow through on her threats to toss him into the sea.

XXX

Felsi awoke bright and early the next morning. Mostly because there was a thumping coming from the roof followed by various scrapes and thuds from the other side of the room as Astrid hurried to ready herself for a morning ride. When she was dressed, Astrid hurried down the stairs, with Felsi creeping along behind her.

Felsi watched from the back door as Astrid saddled Stormfly and the two took off into the air. She ran around the house until she could see them fly into a green structure that hung out over the cliff. She hurried back inside to get dressed, and did so quietly so as not to wake her mother. She threw on her pleated skirt, long sleeved green shirt, and fur vest. Normally she didn't like the rough rope belt that her mother insisted on using to secure the large vest to her waist, but today she tied it on anyway.

Her heart was beating rapidly as she tiptoed to the door. She snuck out back first, shutting the door as quietly as she could, though a chirp from behind her nearly made her scream anyway. Felsi turned to see the blue dragon laying on its side with its top facing the house. Its big eyes watched her.

Felsi didn't know if manners applied to dragons but her mom had always taught her to say thanks when someone helped her, so she walked up to the dragon's head. "Thank you for saving me," she said.

The dragon blinked then rolled onto its stomach. It trilled softly and shook its head as if still waking up. For the first time Felsi got to take a good look at it. She walked all the way around the dragon; its length was more than three times her height, before stopping again at its head. While she looked over the dragon, it was doing the same to her. It opened its mouth and chirped when she got close, causing her to back up again. The two had been looking at each other for a while when a voice called out to them.

"Well look who's up and about," Hiccup's mother Valka came down the path and stopped next to the two of them. "He's a beauty isn't he?" she asked, smiling at Felsi. Felsi nodded shyly. Valka laughed and put her hand out to the dragon. It looked at her hand then turned away. Valka laughed again. "Seem's he doesn't like me. What about you?"

Felsi shrugged, "I don't know."

"Well go on, hold your hand out and see." Hesitantly Felsi did so, and the dragon did the same thing it did the day before and leaned in to her touch. Valka nodded, "He is a particular one. There are a few which are like that." She winked at the girl who looked confused, "But that means he'll always be there for you, and only you."

Felsi looked back at the dragon, her hand still touching its wide snout. Its eyes were on her. Something about those eyes told her that Hiccup's mom was right. "Now what?" She asked.

Valka smiled, "Oh, I think I'll let Hiccup teach you. They've had their own way of doing things long before I came here. But we could head over to the hanger. I bet that's where they'll be meeting the students for the day." Felsi nodded and moved to walk next to Valka. A thudding padding behind them told them that Felsi's new dragon was coming along as well.


End file.
